Dangerous Liaisons to become BBC series

According to Deadline, Christopher Hampton is adapting Choderlos de Laclos’s classic 18th-century novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses into a serial.

He has previously adapted the book as a stage play, earning him a Tony Award nomination, and then followed that up with the Oscar-winning 1988 movie starring Glenn Close, John Malkovich and Michelle Pfeiffer.

However, Hampton will apparently not use elements from his previous adaptations and is also set to incorporate characters from other novels from the 18th Century French libertine literary movement the original novel was part of.

The story of Les Liaisons Dangereuses centres around the twisted games played by ex-lovers and rivals Marquise de Merteuil and the Vicomte de Valmont, who use sex in order to humiliate others.

It has been adapted on several other occasions, including the contemporary makeover Cruel Intentions, and a 2003 mini-series starring Catherine Deneuve and Rupert Everett.